CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTALISM: REDESIGNING BUSINESS MODELS TO FIT STRATEGY, ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITIES AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

The increasing concern of citizens, nations and businesses on natural environment protection and respect lead companies to re-invent new ways of business activities and models. In that sense, new paradigms as the Circular Economy and stakeholders’ pressures move companies towards corporate environmentalism, which supposes to modify company’s aim, mission and strategy. The formulation and implementation of effective proactive environmental strategies implies the reconfiguration and development of new environmental organizational capabilities, especially those linked to business operations and market-related ones. In this new competitive arena, environmental innovations, green marketing and corporate image, environmental legitimacy and reputation are analyzed as main drivers of proactive environmental strategies and key decisions of new and sustainable business models.This paper develops an integrative review of previous concepts intimately related to corporate environmentalism and proposes some fruitfully avenues of future research for those, both academics and business practitioners, focused on how to fit firm’s activities and competitiveness and the respect and preservation of the natural environment.

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Responsible entrepreneurship: outlining the contingencies

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research ◽

10.1108/ijebr-04-2018-0206 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 538-553 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Christine Vallaster ◽

Sascha Kraus ◽

Norbert Kailer ◽

Brooke Baldwin

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Literature Review ◽

Value Creation ◽

Business Models ◽

Responsible Innovation ◽

Future Research ◽

Business Practices ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

Society Business ◽

Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give an up-to-date assessment of key topics and methods discussed in the current literature on responsible entrepreneurship. In the past years, sustainable development itself has become a more popular and important topic in the academic literature and hence the field of sustainable entrepreneurship has become a greater topic of interest and opportunity for solution. Therefore, a systematic literature review is conducted to assess new contributions to the field and its potential for the future of sustainable development, with a focus on responsible innovation.Design/methodology/approachSystematic, evidence-informed literature review following Tranfieldet al.(2003).FindingsBased on a conceptual literature review, five streams of research that responsible entrepreneurs distinguish from purely for-profit entrepreneurs are identified and discussed: walking the line between profit creation and value creation for society; business models of responsible entrepreneurs; their role in transforming society; getting ready to innovate responsibly; and the role of market incentives to foster sustainable business practices.Originality/valueThe structured literature review allows to identify future research paths. In detail, ideas as regards the management of upcoming tensions when trying to combine profit creation and value creation for society, and finally, the way innovation processes need to be rethought when innovating responsibly are discussed and outlined.

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Sustainability-Oriented Business Model Evaluation—A Literature Review

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su131910908 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (19) ◽

pp. 10908

Author(s):

Anika Süß ◽

Kristina Höse ◽

Uwe Götze

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Business Model ◽

Model Evaluation ◽

Business Models ◽

Model Development ◽

Indicator System ◽

Future Research ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

Simulation Based ◽

Sustainable Business Models

Since the need of sustainable development is indisputable, companies are forced to strive for resources, processes, and products that are sustainable. Thus, their business models as the main representation of their activities should be designed in an ecologically, economically, and socially beneficial way. However, designing and developing sustainable business models is closely linked to their evaluation. Sustainable business model evaluation as a vital part of business model development has been addressed in literature in the past with increasing frequency. As a consequence, the plethora of different approaches of sustainability-oriented business model evaluation calls for a systematic literature review. Thus, in this study, we reviewed existing articles on sustainability-oriented business model evaluation and identified four main categories of evaluation methods: single indicators (I), indicator system/framework (II), simulation-based evaluation (III), and multi criteria decision-making (IV). By analyzing and structuring the proposed approaches, their benefits and limitations are revealed, pointing out gaps and future research needs for successfully designing and evaluating business models today and in the future.

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Track 4.f Introduction: Strategic Design of Sustainable Business Models

Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management ◽

10.33114/adim.2019.4f ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Brian BALDASSARRE ◽

Giulia CALABRETTA ◽

Nancy BOCKEN ◽

Jan-Carel DIEHL ◽

Duygu KESKIN

Keyword(s):

Business Model ◽

Business Models ◽

Innovation Management ◽

Business Model Innovation ◽

Research Field ◽

Future Research ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

Strategic Design ◽

The Past ◽

Design For Sustainability

Concerns about the societal and environmental impact of how companies operate have generated increasing interest in more sustainable ways of doing business (Porter & Kramer, 2011). Research and practice from the past decade show that a Sustainable Business Model Innovation lens is suitable to embed sustainability into firms’ objectives and operations (Bocken et al., 2014; Schaltegger, Lüdeke-Freund, & Hansen, 2012). Consequently, Sustainable Business Model Innovation has been emerging rapidly as a research field (Lüdeke-Freund & Dembek, 2017). Recent developments in this field build upon seminal work on Design for Sustainability from the past two decades to establish a connection with Strategic Design (Baldassarre et al., 2019; Geissdoerfer et al., 2016; Manzini, 1999; Tukker, 2004). Strategic Design is a research stream that studies how to leverage the discipline of Design in the context of Strategy and Innovation Management (Calabretta et al., 2016; Karpen, Gemser, & Calabretta, 2017). More specifically, it focuses on the application of design practices, principles and methods to the formulation and implementation of innovation strategies that benefit people and organizations alike (Calabretta et al., 2016). The connection between Sustainable Business Model Innovation and Strategic Design is mainly supported by the argument that the strategic and experimental nature of design enables the integration of stakeholders’ objectives including sustainability concerns, while also providing the process dimension needed to move away from theory towards concrete practice and tangible impact (Baldassarre et al., 2017; Bocken, Schuit, & Kraaijenhagen, 2018). However, research on the role and contribution of Strategic Design to Sustainable Business Modeling is still in its infancy. Consequently, within this track of the 2019 edition of the Academy for Design Innovation Management Conference, we collected four research contributions at the intersection between Strategic Design and Sustainable Business Model Innovation. These contributions are summarized in the paragraphs below, followed by a reflection on all of them and potential directions for future research.

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Designing Business Models for Creating and Capturing Shared Value

Entrepreneurship ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-1923-2.ch015 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 335-360

Author(s):

Arash Najmaei ◽

Zahra Sadeghinejad

Keyword(s):

Complex Adaptive Systems ◽

Value Chain ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Business Models ◽

Business Environment ◽

Future Research ◽

Shared Value ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

Creating Shared Value ◽

Complex Adaptive

Business models define configurations of activities that jointly enable a firm to create and capture value. The value paradigm is shifting from sharing created value to creating shared value in which firms and societies jointly create and share value to nurture more benefits for a sustainable business-environment symbiosis. Drawing on this logic, we develop a framework for designing business models that enable creation and capture of shared value. Our model builds on the practice theory and activity system and depicts business models as complex adaptive systems that co-evolve with markets. Using the shared value framework proposed by Porter and Kramer (2011) we propose three design themes namely the Product-Market Design (PMD), the Value Chain Design (VCD) and the Social Cluster Design (SCD). We specify features of each school from the activity perspective. Subsequently, we will discuss implications of our framework for theory, practice and management education and illuminate some directions for future research.

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Analyzing foreign expansion and corporate reputation: review and future research agenda

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management ◽

10.1108/ccsm-06-2019-0110 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 586-608

Author(s):

Juan Velez-Ocampo ◽

Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez

Keyword(s):

Corporate Reputation ◽

Research Field ◽

Corporate Image ◽

Future Research ◽

International Expansion ◽

Strategic Decisions ◽

Content Type ◽

Future Research Agenda ◽

Brand Credibility ◽

Business Practitioners

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on corporate reputation and internationalization to identify key research theories, contexts, characteristics, methodologies, applications, limitations and opportunities for future research on the interlinks between these two complex constructs. Design/methodology/approach Elements of systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis were used to analyze theories, contexts, characteristics, methodologies and opportunities for future research based on 90 articles published in 50 journals over 27 years. Findings The findings suggest that this is a contemporary yet expanding research field explored from a variety of theoretical, methodological and empirical standpoints, which hinders broad conclusions and warrants further research. More specifically, this paper identifies three broad research streams that link international expansion and corporate reputation and suggests avenues for future studies: cross-national institutions, strategic decisions and corporate reputation; international marketing, consumers and brand credibility; and corporate image, international trade and investment flows. Originality/value Reputation and internationalization are constructs with multiple applications and interpretations. The way companies build, maintain and extend their reputation and legitimacy, and the drivers, motives and difficulties faced by them when expanding operations internationally have been widely studied separately. This manuscript reviews the nascent and promising linkage between these two elements that have recently drawn the attention of business practitioners and scholars alike.

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Sustainable Business Models: A Review

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11061663 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1663 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

Saeed Nosratabadi ◽

Amir Mosavi ◽

Shahaboddin Shamshirband ◽

Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas ◽

Andry Rakotonirainy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Business Model ◽

Business Strategy ◽

Business Models ◽

Innovation Management ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Activity ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Wide Range ◽

Sustainable Business Models

During the past two decades of e-commerce growth, the concept of a business model has become increasingly popular. More recently, the research on this realm has grown rapidly, with diverse research activity covering a wide range of application areas. Considering the sustainable development goals, the innovative business models have brought a competitive advantage to improve the sustainability performance of organizations. The concept of the sustainable business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value, in economic, social, cultural, or other contexts, in a sustainable way. The process of sustainable business model construction forms an innovative part of a business strategy. Different industries and businesses have utilized sustainable business models’ concept to satisfy their economic, environmental, and social goals simultaneously. However, the success, popularity, and progress of sustainable business models in different application domains are not clear. To explore this issue, this research provides a comprehensive review of sustainable business models literature in various application areas. Notable sustainable business models are identified and further classified in fourteen unique categories, and in every category, the progress -either failure or success- has been reviewed, and the research gaps are discussed. Taxonomy of the applications includes innovation, management and marketing, entrepreneurship, energy, fashion, healthcare, agri-food, supply chain management, circular economy, developing countries, engineering, construction and real estate, mobility and transportation, and hospitality. The key contribution of this study is that it provides an insight into the state of the art of sustainable business models in various application areas and future research directions. This paper concludes that popularity and the success rate of sustainable business models in all application domains have been increased along with the increasing use of advanced technologies.

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Sustainability in start-up ventures: what founders say versus what they do

World Journal of Entrepreneurship Management and Sustainable Development ◽

10.1108/wjemsd-05-2015-0025 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 246-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Timothy Galpin ◽

Julia Hebard

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Business Models ◽

New Ventures ◽

Future Research ◽

Business Practices ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

Content Type ◽

Business Plans ◽

Start Up ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose – Although founders of start-up ventures seem to hold similar views about ethical, social, and environmental principles as those in large firms, entrepreneurs tend to be focussed on their immediate stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, and investors. The purpose of this paper is to compare founders’ views – “what they say” – about sustainable business practices to their described business models – “what they do.” Design/methodology/approach – An opinion survey of prospective business start-up founders, along with a content analysis of their business plans, is used to compare founders’ views – “what they say” – about sustainable business practices to their described business models – “what they do.” Findings – Findings suggest that prospective business founders do value sustainable business practices. However, the content of their business models does not reflect their espoused importance of sustainability. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this study is that university students in a business-planning course were used as surrogates for actual start-up venture founders. That being the case, a small percentage (just under 5 percent) of the students indicated at the end of the course that they would like to continue pursuing the venture they helped develop a business plan for. To address this, future research should focus on actual founders of new ventures. Practical implications – The content analysis of the business plans revealed a marked disconnect between the high-value founders reported to place on sustainability and the actual limited inclusion of sustainability in their business models. Therefore, more work needs to be done to educate, encourage, and coach start-up founders to raise their awareness of and desire to include sustainability as key parts of their business models. Originality/value – To date, no studies have attempted to compare start-up venture founders’ views – “what they say” – about sustainable business practices to their described business models – “what they do.”

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Prevailing theoretical approaches predicting sustainable business models: a systematic review

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management ◽

10.1108/ijppm-12-2020-0653 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

João J. Ferreira ◽

Cristina I. Fernandes ◽

Pedro M. Veiga ◽

Mathew Hughes

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Business Models ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Intellectual Structure ◽

Future Research ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

Scientific Publications ◽

Content Type ◽

Theoretical Approaches ◽

Sustainable Business Models

PurposeThis study aims to map scientific publications, intellectual structure and research trends in the sustainable business model (SBM) field. Specifically, it attempts to (1) identify the fundamental contributions of research in this area of knowledge; and (2) determine the research lines that constitute the most prominent intellectual structure. We leverage these insights to formulate and propose a future research agenda for SBM.Design/methodology/approachThe authors made recourse to the bibliometric, co-citation and cluster analysis techniques. To evaluate potential patterns among articles, we analysed how articles are jointly cited. We further applied hierarchical cluster analysis to the articles and used co-citation analysis to group the interrelated articles into distinct sets.FindingsThe results enable the identification and classification of the prevailing theoretical foci in the domain of SBM: (1) SBM implementation; (2) SBM challenges; (3) institutional SBM; (4) circular SBM; and (5) emerging SBM.Originality/valueThis study identifies, explores, analyses and summarises the main theoretical approaches and themes surrounding SBM research to date, contributing to deepening the literature by identifying the priority areas concerning sustainable business models and encouraging future research of an internationally excellent standard.

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Assessment of Circular Economy within Portuguese Organizations

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10072521 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 2521 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Luis Fonseca ◽

José Domingues ◽

Maria Pereira ◽

Florinda Martins ◽

Dominik Zimon

Keyword(s):

Circular Economy ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

Online Survey ◽

Business Models ◽

Environmental Management System ◽

Future Research ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

Wide Range ◽

New Business ◽

The Status

The move towards a new Circular Economy (CE) economic model has been advocated and supported in Portugal, however, there is limited research on this topic. To address this gap, a quantitative research based on an online survey was carried out among 99 Portuguese organizations, encompassing a wide range of sectors and sizes. The results show that CE is regarded as a strategic and relevant issue for profitability and value creation. Furthermore, the perception that it requires the adoption of new business models in addition to the classical “reduce, reuse and recycle” approach is growing. Moreover, based on the hypotheses raised, results suggest that the level of CE adoption is positively impacted by the status of the EMS (Environmental Management System) certification and the willingness to improve the environmental performance and achieve a sustainable business model. However, CE activities are still relatively modest and a friendlier context (fiscal, legal, organizational, etc.) and the stronger support from supply chain agents and consumers are required. Future research should focus on how to design and shape the transition from a linear to a CE economy and to ascertain if the positive attitude towards CE is materialized in changing the way business is done.

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